Table of Contents

Update Flash

The latest version of the Flash plugin should perform better and crash less often. To check if Flash is up to date, visit Mozilla's Plugin Check page. If it says that Flash needs to be updated, install the latest version manually using the steps below.

Caution: Adobe's download page may include a checkbox for optional software (such as Google Chrome or McAfee Security Scan) that is selected by default. If you do not clear the checkbox before downloading, that software will be installed on your computer when you open the Flash installer.

When the download has finished, close Firefox.

At the top of the Firefox window, click on the Firefox button and then select ExitAt the top of the Firefox window, click on the File menu and then select ExitOn the menu bar, click on the Firefox menu and select Quit FirefoxAt the top of the Firefox window, click on the File menu and select Quit

Click the menu button
and then click ExitQuit

Open the Flash installer file you downloaded and follow the instructions.

Note: If you are having problems with the Flash installer from Adobe's download page, you can use this Flash Player installer link to directly download the full installer.

At the top of the Firefox window, click on the Firefox button and then select ExitAt the top of the Firefox window, click on the File menu and then select ExitOn the menu bar, click on the Firefox menu and select Quit FirefoxAt the top of the Firefox window, click on the File menu and select Quit

Click the menu button
and then click ExitQuit

Open the file you downloaded (i.e. install_flash_player_osx_intel.dmg).

In the Finder, open the Install Adobe Flash Player.app to run the installer, then follow the installer's instructions.

At the top of the Firefox window, click on the Firefox button and then select ExitAt the top of the Firefox window, click on the File menu and then select ExitOn the menu bar, click on the Firefox menu and select Quit FirefoxAt the top of the Firefox window, click on the File menu and select Quit

Click the menu button
and then click ExitQuit

Open a Terminal window (in Gnome, click on the Applications menu, select Accessories, and then select Terminal.)

In the Terminal window, change to the directory where you saved the file you downloaded (e.g. cd /home/user/Downloads).

Extract libflashplayer.so from the file you downloaded with the command tar -zxvf install_flash_player_"version"_linux."processor".tar.gz.

As the super user, copy the extracted file, libflashplayer.so, to your Firefox installation directory's plugins sub-directory. For example, if Firefox is installed in /usr/lib/mozilla, use the command sudo cp libflashplayer.so /usr/lib/mozilla/plugins and then enter your super user password when prompted.

Disable hardware acceleration in Flash

Many Flash problems can be resolved by disabling hardware acceleration in your Flash Player settings (Adobe's Flash Player Help - Display Settings page has details). To disable hardware acceleration in Flash:

The about:config "This might void your warranty!" warning page may appear. Click I'll be careful, I promise! to continue to the about:config page.

Search for dom.ipc.plugins.flash.disable-protected-mode in the list of preferences.

Double-click on the preference to toggle its value from false to true. (If the setting is already true it means that Flash Protected Mode is currently disabled.)

Close Firefox.

At the top of the Firefox window, click on the Firefox button and then select ExitAt the top of the Firefox window, click on the File menu and then select ExitOn the menu bar, click on the Firefox menu and select Quit FirefoxAt the top of the Firefox window, click on the File menu and select Quit

The about:config "This might void your warranty!" warning page may appear. Click I'll be careful, I promise! to continue to the about:config page.

Search for dom.ipc.plugins.flash.disable-protected-mode in the list of preferences.

Double-click on the preference to toggle its value from false to true. (If the setting is already true it means that Flash Protected Mode is currently disabled.)

Close Firefox.

At the top of the Firefox window, click on the Firefox button and then select ExitAt the top of the Firefox window, click on the File menu and then select ExitOn the menu bar, click on the Firefox menu and select Quit FirefoxAt the top of the Firefox window, click on the File menu and select Quit